I'm not a big fan of blogs. To me, most of them are a conceit, tapped out by their authors in a more or less stream-of-consciousness, self-indulgent gurgitation. You have to read through a LOT of chaff ("I just got over the flu ..., and returned home to find my wife, ..., and son, ..., ill with the same.") to net out any wheat.

Bodo's piece about Clijsters I found boring and uninspired, and a little pis*y, all of which the author probably felt when he tapped it out on his ever-patient keyboard.

I did enjoy and appreciate the following, further down the page:

"Here’s something. As I wrote above, Baghdatis is a counterpuncher with a huge game. But Federer has an analogous talent: He’s a finesse player with an amazing capacity to turn on the raw power when he needs it."

That's pretty good, imo. Pity it took so much work to extract it... (Do I sound a little pis*y when I say that?)...

I enjoy Bodo's blog. I think he is one of the few writers that covers tennis that isn't afraid to say it how it is. His opinion on Clijster's "injuries" is not something thats just him; the other players on the WTA tour are starting to feel that way also. Some writers write to please the people they are covering, some writers write only what they think their readers want to hear, some writers write to promote their own personal agenda, and some write with no knowledge on what they cover because thats their assignment and they have no interest in the subject. Bodo isn't any of these. He know tennis and he personally knows the people of the pro tennis world; and when he writes, it's just what he sees and there is no hidden agenda or personal slant. Some people don't like it because he says stuff they don't want to hear. If that's you, then stick your head back in a hole, ignore facts, and enjoy your imaginary world. For the rest of us, we'll enjoy hearing the truth.

I enjoy Bodo's blog. I think he is one of the few writers that covers tennis that isn't afraid to say it how it is. His opinion on Clijster's "injuries" is not something thats just him; the other players on the WTA tour are starting to feel that way also. Some writers write to please the people they are covering, some writers write only what they think their readers want to hear, some writers write to promote their own personal agenda, and some write with no knowledge on what they cover because thats their assignment and they have no interest in the subject. Bodo isn't any of these. He know tennis and he personally knows the people of the pro tennis world; and when he writes, it's just what he sees and there is no hidden agenda or personal slant. Some people don't like it because he says stuff they don't want to hear. If that's you, then stick your head back in a hole, ignore facts, and enjoy your imaginary world. For the rest of us, we'll enjoy hearing the truth.

Yeah, but you don't see many WTA players kissing at the net; they usually just shake hands. Kim can't wait for the match to be over so she can run over to the net and get some kisses. Would you want your daughter to play Kim, knowing that she'll be molesting her after the match is over? Somebody should write Kim and tell her to stop doing that before she gets rejected at the net in front of millions of viewers.

Yeah, but you don't see many WTA players kissing at the net; they usually just shake hands. Kim can't wait for the match to be over so she can run over to the net and get some kisses. Would you want your daughter to play Kim, knowing that she'll be molesting her after the match is over? Somebody should write Kim and tell her to stop doing that before she gets rejected at the net in front of millions of viewers.

Not that I endorse Kim calling the reporter an a**hole. But being nice does not mean you have to be a pushover. Some of those reporters are nasty and invasive. Kim had the right not to answer the question, I just wish she had responded to the reporter in a more professional way. By the way, I don't think Kim Clijsters is all that nice. She indeed seems pretentious.

I know I would have a hard time dealing with some of these reporters in the post-match interviews. Some of them ask the most inane questions -- because they've run out of interesting ones. And some of them ask deliberately rude or invasive or provocative questions -- just to try to get a rise out of you that they can then turn into a story.

My impression is that many of the reporters (maybe even most of them) are bored out of their brains, cynical about the people they're covering and just going through the motions.

What a hypocrite. He accuses Kim of whining about injuries, then the article below begins with this long pi$$ and moan.

"Howdy. I’m feeling like 20 miles of bad road today. I just got over the flu while in Australia, and returned home to find my wife, Lisa, and son, Cowboy Luke, ill with the same. Naturally, I’ve now come down with it too. It’s the kids. They pass these things around; Luke has had some kind of cold or something for a solid six weeks. Poor little guy, his lips are so badly chapped that they’re scabbed and he coughs so hard I’m afraid he’s going to shake a rib loose.

I still feel fried, frazzled, and spent. On the night of the men's final, I left Rod Laver Arena at 3:15 A.M. Outside, a driving, misty rain was bathing Melbourne. Transportation was shut down, there wasn't a cab to be seen. So I had to walk back to the hotel, where I arrived, soaked through, at 4. I then booked my wake-up call for 7—three hours later. Glamorous, huh?"

Yeah, I think Bodo's rarely off in his opinions, which he gladly and repetitively states are just that: OPINIONS. You don't have to read the blog, you don't even have to agree (I damn sure don't most times), but it's a great place to discuss tennis, and other tennis-related things. You really have to take the site with a grain of salt, but you should be doing that with any blog.

Peter seems to be writing deliberately provocative stuff (like implying Nadal takes drugs) and hiding behind the "this is just a blog" defense. But Tennis magazine should not link to his blog from their page or pay him in any way. His motive is to make money by maligning players, plain and simple. It is an extension of the FOX "news" culture.

Peter seems to be writing deliberately provocative stuff (like implying Nadal takes drugs) and hiding behind the "this is just a blog" defense. But Tennis magazine should not link to his blog from their page or pay him in any way. His motive is to make money by maligning players, plain and simple. It is an extension of the FOX "news" culture.

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I think you're very close of what I think about Bodo.

And to some extent I think this is an early brain sclerosis working on him and the fear of the competition in media.